As a member of the Illinois Association of Energy Raters, RESNET HERS Rater, BPI Building Analyst and all around great guy no one, I repeat no one is more encouraged by the announcement of the Cash for Caulkers program. But I know a dirty little secret. Beware: Most Energy Auditors don’t do the retrofit/weatherization work. That’s right NO caulking, air sealing, insulation, nada, nothing, zilch.

The issue is the contractors they are going to recommend to do the retrofit work are the same people that didn’t do it right the first time! An Auditor conducts tests, measures, computes, and recommends. But ALOT of “energy auditing companies” do not offer any solutions after the audit. Most auditor say “here is a list of your problems and the ROI on those problems, now you need to fix them. But if you don’t fix them. guess what? It was a total waste of time, money, and ENERGY! For some handy clients this model works. But for most others you are now issued the daunting task of: finding, contacting, and scheduling a drywaller, insulation contractor, electrician, plumber, Carpenter, HVAC company, etc. “Here homeowner give this guy a call, he is great and when he’s done I can come back and check”. Does this make any sense? Now you can add general contractor to your resume. Cool. Actually not cool. Because you are going to end up spending more money, wasting more time, and ENERGY. Think about it each contractor has a mark up just to come out and take a look, then there is the cut they have to give for the referral. And if you sign a contract and agree to something that isn’t the proper retrofit repair your out of luck. “Hi it’s me the Auditor, looks like your contractor didn’t do the repair correct. Dough! Sorry you wasted all that money oops. It is something new, something we are use a link not used to interacting with, and so my brain and my hands need to do a little adjusting. “

Now I understand that some ethical issues are involved. We don’t want to make all these recommendations then shoot them a price. That’s why we always say “here is our recommendations, we can show you what to do, you can use any contractor you like, or we also offer these services. ” Also, an Auditor is an Auditor not a construction company trust me I get it. But to not even offer these services and claim you are taking the holistic approach to the home seems much more unethical to me. It also seems like a gaping void in expertise. I mean unless you are repairing these issues how do you become an expert? Just conducting audits does not make you familiar with everyday hidden issues a retro fitter is faced with. To me it makes sense. We evaluate, We prescribe, We fix. One company with the best energy saving solution. This model saves the client time, money, and ENERGY! Being a home owner this would be the service I would look for when choosing an “Energy Auditing Company”. Conducting energy audits doesn’t mean crawling around in crawl spaces, eating insulation in attics, and encountering all types of wildlife in and about clients homes. These are the things you encounter when doing the repairs. So from a Building performance professional/ home owner to any prospective clients. Beware! If your auditor shows up with no signs of spray foam insulation or dust from blown cellulose. You may want to rethink your decision. It will be worth your time, money and ENERGY.

Anthony Stonis

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